Man Feeds Lobsters at Supermarket
Tue Jun 3, 5:41 AM ET
story.news.yahoo.com
CANANDAIGUA, N.Y. - Joel Freedman grew upset at seeing lobsters, with rubber bands on their claws, piled atop one another in a supermarket tank. The animal-rights advocate figured it was time to make his anger known.
Freedman bought a pound of scallops and, before anyone could intervene, lifted the tank lid and dumped them in.
Employees at the Wegmans store in this Finger Lakes town quickly surrounded him, sparking a heated exchange, Freedman said. He refused to leave, so the police were summoned. After several more minutes of loud conversation, he exited the store on police orders not to return.
Freedman, a member of Animal Rights Advocates of Upstate New York, argued that lobsters are inhumanely treated since they're not fed and are often crowded into supermarket tanks.
"As far as I'm concerned, I obeyed the law by feeding the lobsters," Freedman said in Monday's Daily Messenger about his protest last week. "I should have been able to call the cops on Wegmans."
Store manager John VanBlargan said his employees tried to explain to Freedman that putting the scallops in the tank would do more damage than good. He didn't appear to listen to arguments that he was putting "the equipment in jeopardy," VanBlargan said.
The lobsters are placed in 42-degree water, an industrywide standard, VanBlargan told the newspaper. That puts them in a "semi-dormant state," making them less aware of their surroundings, he said.
If Freedman is spotted at the store in the future, he could be arrested for trespassing, police warned. |
